UFC 296 Prediction: Edwards vs Covington UFC 296 Picks for 12/17

The UFC will close out 2023 in Las Vegas at the usual time of 10pm ET for the main card. 

• 🏟 Location: T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas United States
• 📅 Date: Saturday, December 16th, 2023 
• 🕙 Time: 10pm ET
• 🥊 Main Event: Leon Edwards vs Colby Covington
• 🔥 Top Favorite: Edwards to win by KO/TKO (+390) at BetMGM
• 📊 Fighter Stats: Leon Edwards 21-3 | Colby Covington 17-3
• 📺 TV Channel: ESPN + PPV

⭐ Bet $5, Get $200 in Bonus Bets for the UFC 296 Best Bets Today! ⭐ 

The fact Covington has managed to get himself a title shot is in itself quite incredible. The American is one of the least active fighters in the welterweight division, fighting only three times in the past three years.

What’s more, Covington has also managed to lose in two title fights already in his career, as Usman defeated him in 2019 and again in 2021. 

This does now mean the only wins in the past few years for “Chaos” have been against Tyron Woodley, where Colby only won because of a rib injury to Woodley. Covington’s second victory in this period was with a wrestling masterclass against Jorge Masvidal.  

Ultimately, the only fighters Covington has defeated since 2017 have been aging fighters who are on their way out, such as Demian Maia, dos Anjos, Woodley and Masvidal. Although this does leave him with an impressive 17-3 record, it’s hard to call his CV anything other than decent. 

We’ve put together the UFC 296 predictions and our UFC picks for this weekend from the best online betting sites for UFC odds.

UFC Best Bet #1: Leon Edwards to beat Colby Covington KO/TKO (+390) at BetMGM 

Although Covington certainly has a chance to win on Saturday night, we can’t look past how it seems as if everything favors the champion.

Edwards has been significantly more active than Covington, which in a monumental title fight, means a lot. 

The Brit is also three inches taller, a significantly better striker, and will be able to keep the distance from the wrestling-focused American very well, given how he has a two-inch reach advantage too.  

For Covington to win this fight, he’s likely going to need to win round after round. For Edwards to claim his 22nd victory in professional MMA, it may just be a case of setting up another barrage of shots that his opponent cannot deal with. 

Ultimately, we see the younger, more active and more well-rounded fighter in Edwards getting another KO/TKO win.

⭐ UFC 296 Picks: Leon Edwards to beat Colby Covington KO/TKO (+390) at BetMGM

UFC Best Bet #2: Paddy Pimblett on Points vs. Tony Ferguson (+190) at FanDuel 

Let’s move a bit further down the card to look at the UFC odds for Tony Ferguson vs Paddy Pimblett.

With odds of -310 on the moneyline for Pimblett, it’s clear to see where this fight is heading. He will also be the favorite for the fifth time in what is his fifth fight in the UFC, and against a man with a current six-fight losing skid, we see nothing but a seventh win in a row for Pimblett.

The Brit is 11 years younger than Ferguson and by simply looking at the way the latter has lost in his current losing run, it’s this age difference that likely plays the biggest factor. 

Simply put, at the end of the day, every fighters’ time comes, and in truth, Ferguson’s came about three years ago but has continued to fight and therefore continued to lose.

Pimblett is likely going to need to match Ferguson’s volume in this one and make sure he uses his superior speed to keep winning the rounds. 

⭐ UFC 296 Picks: Paddy Pimblett on Points vs. Tony Ferguson (+190) at FanDuel  

UFC Best Bet #3: Alexandre Pantoja to Beat Brandon Royval by Submission (+145) at DraftKings 

Our final selection from our UFC predictions looks at the co-main event where the flyweight title is on the line in what will be Alexandre Pantoja’s first defense of the belt.

Pantoja beat Brandon Moreno for the second time back in July to win the title in what was a very close and interesting battle. Ultimately, Pantoja claimed the win by narrowly out-striking the Mexican, while his efforts to mix in takedowns no doubt helped too and showed why he is a worthy champion.

In our opinion, this is quite an easy fight to call. Although Royval is up there with some of the best flyweights in the UFC, he is far from the best. In fact, the American has already lost to Pantoja from a rear-naked choke and also suffered a loss to Moreno just a few months before that.

Royval is now with a record of 15-6, which is far from an impressive read. What’s more, given how Pantoja has already defeated him via submission in his career, our UFC picks heads for the same outcome at UFC 296.

⭐ UFC 296 Picks: Alexandre Pantoja to Beat Brandon Royval by Submission (+145) at DraftKings